Thoughts about faith, hope, and the rest of life
Just as I did 2017 and 2018, I made it one of my goals in 2019 to read one book a month. It was the first year I exceeded my goal to reach 13 (partly spurred on by the voracious reading of my wife who read 30 books). Here’s a list of my top 5 books from 2019:
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For the past few years, we’ve kept a sticky note on our fridge to track which books we’ve read throughout the year. This year, I set myself a goal of reading two books per month. Thanks to both kids being in school as well as discovering audio books from our local library, I managed to exceed my goal and read 30 books! Here are my top 5 picks, listed in the order of which I read them:
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“What will you be doing for Advent this year?” a friend asked me. She knew that for the past three years, I have engaged in an Advent Photo-a-Day practice, reflecting on a prompt word each day and capturing it in a picture.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “It hurts too much. My heart is still tender from the grief of my dad’s passing.”
In previous years, the season of Advent had been a source of joy and consolation for me. I looked forward to the anticipation and the gentle, dark time of waiting. Advent had always been a time of finding hidden beauty. This year, however. This year was different. I couldn’t even think about Advent without tears welling up and my chest feeling like it had exploded. Or maybe imploded. Oh, what a raw place.
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Hello dear readers,
Spring is a season where change often happens and Tim and I have two developments we wanted to let you in on. This post will be more of a personal update from us and less of the reflective type of article we usually post.
Traditionally, the season of Lent is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday (not including Sundays). It is a season for fasting and repentance, a season of soul-examination drawing from Jesus’ experience in the wilderness. This year, Lent starts on Wednesday, March 6 and lasts until Saturday, April 20.
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Back in January, Tim and I did our annual Blue Day – a day to review our direction, plan, and dream for this coming year (we explain this idea more in our ebook “Fight With Me“). We also chose a theme word to focus on for the year. For 2019, our word is Enough.
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Advent is a season observed by many Christians as a time of preparation and expectant waiting for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The term comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” Many people like to go through a set of readings during Advent. For me, having one word to contemplate throughout the day and looking for an image to capture that word allows me to practice Advent in a simple, accessible, and integrated way that flows with the rhythms of my life.
The practice of capturing one photo a day throughout Advent has enabled me to live with eyes wide open, in both a physical and spiritual sense. In the midst of the hubbub of December, it has allowed me to slow down and be attentive to my life. It has been such a rich practice over the past few years that I wanted to continue it this Advent.
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